Credit: Chitose Suzuki

Massachusetts state auditor Suzanne Bump is calling on the DTA to do a better job of fighting welfare fraud.

Credit: Nancy Lane

Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump

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A stunning $2.39 million in benefits were paid out to more than 1,160 people who were listed as dead, according to a scathing new audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance.

The report, released this afternoon by state Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office, also showed where DTA failed to use technology that could have identified $15 million in questionable benefits and shelled out a $1 million more to those using fake Social Security numbers.

Among the findings:

• Auditors identified 1,164 cases where $2.39 million was paid in benefits from six to 27 months after the recipients had died.

• DTA gave out another $532,000 to people either claiming deceased dependents or to 40 people who were being claimed by more than one guardian.

• During the time the audit focused on, DTA did not verify self-reported Social Security numbers, leading the state to pay out more than $1 million to those using two numbers to collect and individuals whose social security numbers were being used by more than one person. It also shelled out benefits for an “extended amount of time” to people with an invalid temporary social security number.

•Despite generating reports to help identify fraud, DTA did not use them, even though they revealed more than $15 million in EBT activity that auditors say “should have been identified by DTA and investigated.”

Bump’s office said its finding prompted the agency to develop it’s so-called “100-day” plan aimed at revamping several of its processes.

“What is most troubling is that there were tools that DTA had to make sure that only eligible people are getting benefits ... and they weren’t systematically used,” Bump said in an interview. “It’s not that the agency didn’t have access to these resources. It’s that there wasn’t a culture that insisted upon their use.”

Bump acknowledged that DTA was flooded with new requests when the recession hit in 2008, and in many instances, the extra demand outpaced the numbers of workers available.

But it’s not an excuse, she said.

“We were able to do it. The technology is there,” Bump said while acknowledging her audit and other reviews of the agency have put the pressure on officials. “They certainly know now that all eyes are upon them, and that they have to produce.”

The audit follows a damning report released earlier this year by the inspector general’s office, which found $25 million in EBT money went to recipients who may not have been eligible.

It came amid a series of scandals to hit the embattled agency, including overpaying food stamps recipients by $27 million and then shelling out $3.4 million in overtime pay to fix the glitch.

A Herald review uncovered that DTA couldn’t locate thousands of EBT recipients, and earlier this month, Dedham cops spoke out after investigators failed to follow up when them after they found an EBT card and paperwork for other benefits during a raid on a Dorchester apartment loaded with drugs and cash.

“Now we’ve seen probably thousands of man hours spent,” Rep. Bradley H. Jones, the House minority leader, said, pointing to reviews and reports on the agency. “It’s further glaring evidence that there is a systemic and ongoing waste, fraud and abuse that contrary to previous assertions by the governor is far more than anecdotal. ... It’s like taxpayers have a big ‘kick me’ sign on.”

DTA, amid several management changes, has desperately tried to rework its image, including with its 100-day plan. Last week, the agency released an update in which officials preached progress in implementing 10 different programs, including efforts to cut down on requests for replacement cards.

Officials at DTA and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency, weren’t immediately available for comment.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, have sparred over implementing their own reforms.

After the House passed amendments to put photos on EBT cards and create a Bureau of Program Integrity to help stop fraud, the Senate gutted them from its own budget. Several GOP-backed amendments also were shot down last week after lawmakers said they wanted to wait to see a more comprehensive bill that Senate President Therese Murray vowed to release within the coming weeks.

Among the changes Republicans pushed for was an amendment filed by Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) that would have created an automatic payment system where cash-assistance recipients would have money deducted from their benefits and sent directly to pay rent and utility bills, thus limiting their access to cash.

Murray, without disclosing what her bill would address, promised last week that “some of the things people want to do will be included.”